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University ol the State of New Yor]( Bulletin 

Entered as second-class matter August 2, 1913, at the Post Office at Albany, N. Y., 
under the act of August 24, 1912 

Published fortnightly 



No. 693 



ALBANY, N. Y. 



September i, 19 19 



Immigrant Education 



AMERICANIZATION IN INDUSTRY 



CAROLINE A. WHIPPLE 
Supervisor of Factory Classes 




Night men in a large factory study English after work 



Go3r-Ja20-,sooo 



ALBANY 

THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 

1919 






THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 

Regents of the University 
With years when terms expire 

(Revised to January i, 1920) 

1926 Pliny T. Sexton LL.B. LL.D. Chancellor ~ -Palmyra 

1927 Albert Vander Veer M.D. M.A. Ph.D. LL.D. 

Vice Chancellor Albany 
1922 Chester S. Lord M.A. LL.D. ----- Brooklyn 

1930 William Nottingham M.A. Ph.D. LL.D. - - Syracuse 

1924 Adelbert Moot LL.D. ------- Buffalo 

1925 Charles B. Alexander M.A. LL.B. LL.D. 

Litt.D. ----------- -Tuxedo 

1928 Walter Guest Kellogg B.A. LL.D. - - - Ogdensburg 
1920 James Byrne B.A. LL.B. LL.D, - - - - - New York 

1929 Herbert L. Bridgman M.A. ----- -Brooklyn 

1931 Thomas J. Mangan M.A. ------ - Binghamton 

President of the Univeisity and Commissioner of Education 

John H. Finley M.A. LL.D. L.H.D. 

Deputy Commissioner and Coimsel 

Frank B. Gilbert B.A. 

Assistant Commissioner ani Director of Professional Education 

Augustus S. Downing M.A. L.H.D. LL.D. Pd.D. 

Assistant Commissioner for Secondary Education 

Charles F. Wheelock B.S. LL.D. 

Acting Assistant Commissioner for Elementary Education 

George M. Wiley M.A. 

Director of State Library 

James I. Wyer, Jr, M.L.S. Pd.D. 

Director of Science and State Museum 

John M. Clarke D.Sc. LL.D. 

Chiefs and Directors of Divisions 

Administration, Hiram C. Case 

Agricultural and Industrial Education, Lewis A. Wilson 

Archives and History, James Sullivan M.A. Ph.D. 

Attendance, James D. Sullivan 

Educational Extension, William R. Watson B.S. 

Examinations and Inspections, George M. Wiley M.A. 

Law, Frank B. Gilbert B.A., Counsel 

Library School, James I. Wyer, Jr, M.L.S. Pd.D. 

School Buildings and Grounds, Frank H. Wood M.A. 

School Libraries, Sherman Williams Pd.D. 

Visual Instruction, Alfred W. Abrams Ph.B. 



AME 



1^ 



RICANIZATION IN INDUSTRY 

"Advancement — improvement in condition — is the order of things in a 
society of equals." Abraham Lincoln, July j, 1854 

From the beginning of colonial history, general education has been 
a chief concern of the American people. We have proudly con- 
sidered our public school system the foundation of democracy and 
have been overweeningly confident of its power to fuse all opposing 
elements in our population. The disillusioning reports during the 
war shocked our complacency and indicated that the percentage of 
illiteracy given in the United States census of 1910, when tested 
practically, was altogether too low. According to data accumulated 
by the War Department, 25 per cent of the selected young men of 
our Nation, called together by the draft, were unable to read news- 
papers or write letters 'home. " A large proportion of this 25 
per cent were as completely incapable of writing their names as 
the coolies of inland China." ^ This deficiency, a tremendous 
disadvantage to these men as individuals in times of peace, became, 
in the mass, in stress of war, a formidable obstacle to their efficiency 
as soldiers and as members of the industrial forces. In a great 
crisis an unfair burden was put on them and their officers to over- 
come this handicap. 

During March 1918, Secretary of the Interior Lane said, in 
letters to President Wilson and to the congressional chairmen of 
the committee on education : " I believe that the time has come 
when we should give serious consideration to the education of 
those in the United States who can not read or write. The war 
has brought facts to our attention that are almost unbelievable and 
that in themselves are accusatory. . . . An uninformed 
democracy is not a democracy."^ 

Commissioner Finley, said before the New York Legislature, 
after he had visited a cantonment : " What a commentary upon our 
educational shortcomings that in the days of peace we had not 
taught these men, who have been here long enough to be citizens 
(and tens of thousands of their brothers with them) to know the 
language in which our history and laws are written and in which 
the commands of defense must now be given ! " 



1 The New Nationalism and Education, by Robert W. Bruere. Harpers 
Magazine, July 1919. 

2 Letter quoted in the Official Bulletin, March 16, 1918. 

g 9ir-ni9-sooo (7-3493) 



Legislation in New York 
To meet the need of the great number of illiterates in our state 
and of the non-English-speaking, both literate and illiterate, and 
to prepare them for citizenship ^ amendments to the education law 
were made, which took effect September i, 1918. These amend- 
ments are : 

1 To require night schools throughout the state. 

2 To require attendance at some day or evening school or some 
school maintained by an employer of every minor between sixteen 
and twenty-one years of age " who does not possess such ability 
':o speak, read and write the English language, as is required for 
the completion of the fifth grade of the public or private schools 
of the city or school district in which he resides. , . . Any 
employer may meet the requirements of this act by conducting a 
class or classes for teaching English and civics to foreign-bom in 
shop, store, plant or factory under the supervision of the local 
school authorities." 

3 To authorize the Commissioner of Education to divide the 
State into zones and to appoint such persons as would be necessary 
" to promote and extend educational facilities for the education of 
illiterates and of non-English speaking persons." ^ 

Night Schools 
Most of the ilUterates and non-English-speaking are above legal 
school age. Indeed, the large majority are over twenty-one. Night 
schools have never reached more than a negligible number of these 
who most need instruction. It is only the younger and the ambi- 
tious who enrol for an evening course, and many of these soon drop 
out. There are many reasons for this failure to meet a great 
educational need, one of the chief being that men and women, tired 
from a hard day's work, have not the physical strength to exert 
themselves for exacting mental effort. To hurry through supper, 
change one's clothes, and rush out again, to reach a school a long 
way off, seems too much of a burden. After an all day's absence, 
they are loath to leave their families. Indeed, most of them have 
not the slightest desire for book-learning, for they have come from 
countries where, for the masses, there is no tradition of education. 

1 According to Census of 1910, illiterates numbered 406,020, and non- 
English-speaking, 597,012; aliens by state census of 1915 equaled 1,628,229. 

2 Public Facilities for Educating the Aliens, F. E. Farrington. Bureau 
of Education Bui. 18 (1916), p. 33r3S. 



Miss Sarah Elkus, who with the board of education of New 
York City for four years has been organizing classes in settlements, 
stores and factories, says : 

" In considering this great problem, the query naturally is made : 
Why are not the evening schools sufficient to educate the foreign- 
born? There are several answers to this question. First of all, 
the worker is tired when the day's toil is over and he or she prefers 
amusement to instruction. Second, the foreigner who speaks no 
English finds the evening school uncongenial because he is at a 
decided disadvantage when surrounded by more advanced pupils 
who may thoughtlessly laugh at his mistakes. 

" When I asked one man why he did not go to evening school, 
he said he did not like to put his boots on after he had taken them 
off. We have found that the only successful way to get results 
with non-English-speaking foreigners is to have classes in the 
factories where they are employed. When given an opportunity to 
attend the factory classes, many workingmen and women gladly 
devote an hour to study, £^fter work is over, and some of the 
pupils make remarkable progress in a very short time." 

Night schools have been too little advertised, too meagerly 
financed and too inadequately planned and equipped to meet the 
needs of adults. They have never been igiven the same thoughful 
care as day schools. A comparison of the figures given herewith, 
representing the non-English-speaking and illiterate foreign-born 
whites in New York State and their school attendance, does not 
lead to complacency. 

Foreign-bom whites in New York State i 

Total number 2 729 272 

NonHEnglish-speakittg S97 012 

Illiterates 406 020 

School attendance of foreign-born whites in New York State 
Total number 10 years of age 15 years of age 21 years of age 

attending school and over and over and over 

187 034 131 541 43 492 9 603 

Classes in Work Places 

Since the necessity for increased facilities of education is obvi- 
ous, and since night schools will inevitably reach only a small por- 
tion of those most in need of instruction, classes in work places are 
an essential to democracy. We must make learning accessible. 
This idea of taking school into industry is not new. Apprentice 

* Census of 1910. 



and corporation schools, vestibule, corridor and cooperative classes, 
have been widely tested. Teaching of English and civics to groups 
in factories is a commonplace in many cities. 

These classes in English and civics will not be the cure of all 
troubles in a factory, but if they are intelligently and whole-heart- 
edly conducted, they do much in bettering conditions. In advocat- 
ing this instruction, the State is primarily interested in the individ- 
uals who otherwise would remain illiterate and unable to speak 
English. Both employers and employees, however, before giving 
their cooperation must be persuaded that such teaching will be 
advantageous to them. It is difficult to separate the specific bene- 
fits which come to the different partners in the enterprise, but what 
the experience in various places has been is shown by this 
summary : 

Advantages of Factory Classes to Employers 

1 Reduction of accidents to workers and machines 

a Fewer compensation cases 
b Lower insurance rate 

2 Lessened labor turnover 

3 Increased production and better quality of work 

4 Better cooperation between employed and employers 

5 Greater harmony among employees 

6 More interest in the care and cleanliness of factory 

7 Less supervision 

The worker should be made to realize that knowledge of English 
is primarily for his own protection. English is the language of the 
country and whoever is ignorant of it is at a disadvantage with 
fellow workmen who know it. Both inside and outside the shop 
he is often the victim of the unscrupulous who exploit his 
helplessness. 

Advantages of Factory Classes to Workers 

I In general 

a Less risk of accidents 

b Greater chance to advance in wages and job 

c Greater self -protection from unfair deals 

d More intelligent workmanship 

e Opportunity to enter more fully into the life of the factory 

and community 
/ More adequate preparation for citizenship 



2 From instruction in civics and hygiene 

a Understanding of functions of different departments of 

city, state and national governments 
b Knowledge of school and health laws of community 
' c Familiarity with educational and recreational facilities 
of the community 
The community receives benefit, for whenever even one person 
demands better things, standards are raised. 

Advantages of Factory Classes to the Community 

1 More enlightened neighborhoods that demand better housing, 

sanitation etc. 

2 Greater intelligence in caring for the sick 

3 Demand for entertainment of higher grade 

4 Greater number desiring citizenship 

5 More united community 

Accidents as a Result of Ignorance of English 

The most important part of factory management has to do with 
reducing accident rates. There is overwhelming testimony that 
ignorance of English is vitally concerned with this. It is impos- 
sible to give many carefully worked out investigations, for only in 
a few places have they been made. Nor is it wise to draw hard and 
fast conclusions as to the exact relation of this handicap to disaster, 
for the non-English-speaking foreigners are likely to be inexper- 
ienced laborers, and accident rates are admittedly highest among 
workers new at a job. It is the part of common sense however, 
to acknowledge that the inability to understand directions increases 
risk in hazardous occupations. A careful study of the safety move- 
ment in the iron and steel industry from 1907 to 191 7, made for the 
United States Department of Labor by Lucian W. Chaney and 
Hugh S. Hanna, supports this assumption. The period studied 
" embraces practically the entire history of the safety movement, 
not only in the manufacture of iron and steel but in the whole 
field of American industry. At that time, indeed, (say 1907 and 
the years immediately preceding) there existed in American indus- 
try generally a frightful disregard of human life. Accident 
occurrence had reached a condition perhaps not paralleled at any 
other time or place. Two factors contributed to such a condition : 
first an unprecedented degree of business activity; and second, a 



6 



larger proportion of inexperienced immigrant labor than at any 
time before or since."^ 



1 The Safety Movement in the Iron and Steel Industry. Bureau of Labor 
statistics, Bui. 234, p. 13. 

Of all inexperienced workers, the man most handicapped would seem 
to be the one who is not only without knowledge of his task but is 
unable to communicate freely with those who direct him. When one large 
company began to study carefully their working conditions, they found 
it not infrequently the case that a foreman was in charge of a gang with 
no member of which could he communicate either, directly or by an inter- 
preter. Still more common was it to find individual men who were thus 
barred from communication with their immediate superior. This was at 
once recognized as a dangerous condition and the rule was issued that gangs 
should be formed in such a manner that each man should be able to com- 
municate with his foreman directly or by interpreter.^ 

2 Op. cit., p. 144. 

The following table (summary) contrasts accident rates of (i) American- 
born workers, (2) English-speaking, foreign-born workers, and (3) non- 
English-speaking foreign-born workers, over a period of eight years, 1906 
to 1913, in the only plant for which full data could be obtained : 







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Examining the combined data for the eight years, it will be noted that the 
non-English speakers have a frequency rate 2.3 times that of the American 
born (212.6 as against 90.7 cases per 1000 300-day workers) and a severity 
rate 1.4 times as high as that of the American-born (29.5 against ai.8 days 
lost per worker).! 

In another study of accidents in machine building, the same gen- 
eral conclusions are reached: 

It was not possible in the plants covered to separate the employees intO' 
English and non-English speakers. For one large machine-building plant, 
however, separation was possible between the American-born and foreign- 
born. The foreign-born showed an accident rate approximately double that 
for the native-born. This excess rate among foreign-born is clearly attribu- 
table to the same causes which lead to a constant excess among non-^English- 
speaking steel workers partly to their failure to understand clearly the 
orders given them, and partly to the fact that the recent immigrant suffers 
from lack of experience, and thus falls largely into the group of unskilled 
occupations involving exposure to inherently high accident hazards.^ 

Although few accurate studies of the relation of the inability 
to speak and understand English to accidents have been made, many 
opinions are expressed by careful winters. In " The Case Against 
Night Work," by Josephine Goldmark -and Louis Brandeis, the 
statement is made : " Ignorance of the English language is the 
greatest obstacle to industrial advancement. It prevents the dis- 
tribution of congested immigrant populations and increases injuries 
and occupational diseases, owing to the immigrants' inability to 
understand orders or hygienic regulations printed or orally given 
in industrial establishments." 

The Commonwealth Steel Company of St Louis reports that 
80 per cent of the injuries received by their workmen are among 
the non-English-speaking employees " though they constitute only 
34 per cent of the force." 

Miss Eastman, in her study of accidents in coal mines, " Work 
Accidents and The Law " (The Pittsburgh Survey, 1910) says : 
" Ignorance covers a large share of these cases, the ignorance of 
young boys, of those who are ' green ' at their job, of the tongue- 
tied alien who finds himself for the first time a part of swift and 
mighty processes." 



1 Op. cit., p. 144^46. 

^Accidents and Accident Prevention in Machine Building. United States 
Bureau of Labor statistics Bui. 216, p. 12. 



Van H. Manning, director of the United States Bureau of Mines, 
makes a strong plea for the education of these inarticulate workers : 

In the Pennsylvania anthracite mines 43 per cent of the employees are 
lEnglish-speaking and this number is charged with only 28.8 per cent of 
the fatalities, whereas the other 56 per cent (representatives of continental 
Europe) sustained 71 per cent of the fatalities. Likewise in the Pennsylvania 
"bituminous mines the English-speaking employees represent 35 per cent of 
the total and are charged with 27 per cent of the fatalities, whereas the 
■other 65 per cent (representatives of continental Europe) are charged with 
73 per cent of the fatalities. As regards the figures for West Virginia, 
the English-speaking employees represent 67 per cent and notwithstanding 
the fact that this includes 17 per cent of colored employees, only 53 per cent 
of the fatalities are charged to the English-speaking employees, whereas, 
the other 33 per cent sustain 47 per cent of the fatalities. Almost the same 
ratio holds for nonfatal injuries in the three groups of mines cited. 

Had the fatality and injury rate for the English- speaking American been 
maintained throughout the three groups, there would have been a saving 
■of 716 fatalities, and 900 very sierious injuries, a strong argument for 
Americanization and education of the miner.^ 

Extent of Industrial Accidents in the United States 

The cost of industrial accidents is appalling; a tremendous drain 
■on the vitality and wealth of our Nation. " The probable approxi- 
mate number of fatal industrial accidents among American wage- 
earners, including both sexes, may be conservatively estimated at 
^5,000 for the year 1913, and the number of injuries involving a 
disability of more than four weeks, at approximately 700,000."^ 
In the face of the testimony that ignorance of English is a factor 
in this terrible waste, how can we dare to leave a stone unturned 
in giving workers at least an elementary vocabulary? 

Industrial Accidents and Compensation, New York State 

The following statement was furnished by the State Department 
of Labor: 

As to the number of industrial accidents occurring, in New York State, 
according to the latest report of the Bureau of Workmen's Compensation, 
there were in the year ending June 30, 1918, in round numbers, 287,000 
accidents in the State of which 53,000 were compensated under otir New 
York State law. A rough estimate, which is all that is possible with the 
present available data, indicates that the cost of these accidents for com- 
pensation, medical benefits, administration of the compensation law, adminis- 
tration of the compensation insurance, and the wage and medical losses 



1 Monthly Statement of Coal-mine fatalities in United States Jan. 1919. 
p. II. Dept. of Interior. 

2 Industrial Accident Statistics No. 157. U. S. Dept. of Labor, Bureau of 
Labor Statistics, p. 6. F. L. Hoffman. 



10 

of injured employees, not covered by compensation was in round numbers, 
$30,000,000. A rough estimate of the loss of production occasioned by these 
accidents, indicates that it was in round numbers $100,000,000. 

" As to what proportion of these accidents could be charged to the inability 
of employees to understand English, there are no data dependable enough 
or comprehensive enough to enable one to make an estimate. There is 
entirely dependable evidence, however, that that element was an important 
factor in the causation of these accidents. Some of the best evidence of 
that kind is to be found in recent bulletins concerning industrial accidents 
of the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, Washington, D. C." 

An Estimate of Numbers of Non-English Speaking Workmen 
Who are Hurt in the Compensation Jurisdiction 

William C. Archer, Deputy Commissioner, Bureau of Compensa- 
tion, New York State Department of Labor, makes the following 
statement : 

If I were asked to make an estimate, I think I should say that four out 
of ten workmen who are hurt in the compensation jurisdiction, can not 
speak English. If I were speaking of New York City alone, I would put 
it at about one-half. 

The Relation of Illiterates to Economic Loss 

Aside from the acknowledged relation of ignorance of English 
to accident rates, there is an important connection between ignor- 
ance of English and illiteracy to economic loss. Secretary of the 
Interior Lane, in a letter to President Wilson, says: 

I beg you to consider the economic loss arising out of this condition 
[of illiteracy]. If the production labor value of an illiterate is less only 
50 cents a day than that of an educated man or woman, the country is 
losing $825,000,000 a year through illiteracy. This estimate is no doubt under 
rather than over the real loss. The federal government and the states spend 
millions of dollars in trying to give information to the people in rural 
districts about farming and homemaking. Yet 3,700,000 or 10 per cent of 
our country folk can not read or write a word.^ 

Labor Turnover in Relation to Ignorance of English and to 

Illiteracy 
Ignorance of English is a large factor in turnover. It is gen- 
erally acknowledged that the non-English-speaking and illiterate 
workmen are the ones most easily discouraged and ready to give 
up the job. Misimderstandings and suspicion arise among fore- 
men and men through inability to speak a common language. It 
is only recendy that employers have realized the enormous expense 

1 Letter quoted in the Official Bulletin, March 16, 1918. 



11 

entailed in continual replacement of their forces. The first pub- 
lished record of an investigation on a large scale is from a paper 
by Magnus W'. Alexander, head of the training schools of the 
General Electric company. In 191 2 he made a study of twelve 
American factories varying in size from 300 to over 10,000 
employees. He discovered that 72.8 per cent of all employees 
engaged during 1912 were entirely new to the factories and that 
most of the employers utterly failed to realize the appalling waste 
in continually replacing workers. The group of firms which he 
studied and which he considered typical " engaged about six and 
one-third times as many persons during the year as were neces- 
sary to account for the permanent increase in the total working 
force." 

According to Mr Alexander's conclusions, at least 22,031 of 
these changes were unnecessary. By summing up the expenses 
incurred in training each group, Mr Alexander finds a total of 
$831,030 or an average cost of over $37 for each of the 22,031 
persons apparently unnecessarily engaged. 

The items considered in computing cost were (i) hiring, (2) 
instruction, (3) wear and tear on machinery, (4) reduced pro- 
duction, (5) spoiled work. "This amount will be considerably 
greater and may reach a million dollars if the decrease of profits 
due to reduced production and the increase of expenses on account 
of an enlarged equipment investment are taken into consideration.^ 

" While one manager estimated the cost of hiring and breaking 
in an employee at $30 the estimate of all others ranged from $50 
to $200 per employee. The great difference in these estimates 
is no doubt due to the diversity of the industries represented by 
these managers. Most estimates ranged between $50 and $100."^ 

Mr Alexander's study was more concerned with skilled labor, 
men who were likely to be English-speaking and literate, and he 
was primarily interested in the cost of the turnover rather than 
in its causes. The expense of breaking in men for common labor 
is of course less than training them for complicated machines. 
Since Mr Alexander's investigation, others have been made with 
varying estimates of the cost of different items. Many consider 
the total cost more than Mr Alexander reckoned. Even yet there 
are many employers who take excellent care of their machinery 
and equipment, who have not learned the necessity of making a 



^ The Annals of the American Academy, May, 1916, p. 138-40. 
2 R. W. Kelly. Hiring the Worker, p. 108-99. 



12 

scientific study of the human element in their plants. They do 
not realize the paramount importance of adapting environment to 
workers. Men and women naturally shun a place where hazards 
are reported high, or where conditions are unpleasant. In gen- 
eral, whatever makes men and women feel that they are becoming 
more efficient, or whatever contributes to more complete adaptation 
to their surroundings, will reduce the desire of change. Where 
factory classes have been in operation even for a short time and 
on a small scale, there is testimony that they have been a stabilizing 
factor. In them men and women are dealt with as individuals, 
and they become conscious of relationships and responsibilities 
which before they have not felt. 

Labor and Education 

One of the healthful signs of the current discussion of " recon- 
struction," during and since the war, is the realization among 
increasing numbers that education has been essentially aristocratic, 
for the selected few and not for the mass. Organized workers are 
demanding that the men and women who fill our shops and 
factories must not for that reason be denied education. They are 
apprehensive of purely technical schools which train for specialized 
industry and not for life. The publications of the British Workers' 
Educational Association are illuminating. " The really great thing 
is that liberal education (in opposition to specialized education for 
undeveloped minds) should be open to all who can profit by it."^ 
The platform of the Labor party of Greater New York likewise 
calls for general, liberal training as a prerequisite to specialization. 
The educational program of the State Federation of Labor is 
broad and progressive. 

Factory classes are only a breaking of the ground, but intelli- 
gently conducted, they atone in a slight measure for past defi- 
ciencies and prepare the way for wider training. In immediate 
results, they contribute to three great essentials in human relation- 
ships : sympathy, loyalty and creative impulse. With the growth 
of huge establishments, the direct relation between employer and 
man has gone. Unskilled laborers in a factory are far removed 
from supei^vision and acquaintance of the general manager, him- 
self often an employee of some one more powerful. During the 
war when full production was a grim necessity, this weakness in 



i"What Is Democratic Education?" See, too, "Labor and the Common- 
wealth," G. D. H. Cole. 



13 

our industrial system was recognized and we had immense mass 
meetings of workmen addressed by employers, who were inter- 
nationally important. The effect on production of this rather 
artificial contact was magical. Each man, in whatever humble 
capacity, was made to feel that he personally had a responsibility 
in the nation's crisis and that he had a loyalty to show to his 
employer and country. 

These groups of men and women, gathered for study in classes, 
have in a degree, the old-time personal contact, for they are dealt 
with as individuals and not as part of a machine. The teacher is 
interested in their history, their country, and their family. The 
foremen inquire about their progress. This little leaven goes a 
long way in transforming the spirit of a large group. 

Many thoughtful writers are discussing the creative impulse in 
industry and its relation to present industrial questions. Some wise 
employers are realizing that they can not get intelligent whole- 
hearted cooperation until their employees have a more thorough 
knowledge of the industry than they can get by monotonous repeti- 
tion of one operation. For employees handicapped by ignorance of 
English, such knowledge is very difficult. Robert Wolf, at a meet- 
ing of the Taylor Society in March 1917, said: 

The opportunity for self-expression, which is synonymous with joy in 
work, is something that the workman is entitled to, and we employers who 
feel that management is to become a true science must 'begin to think less 
of the science of material things and think more of the science of human 
relationship. Our industries must become humanized, otherwise there will 
be no relief from the present state of unrest in the industries of the world. 
. It is beginning to be understood that when we deny to vast 
numbers of individuals the opportunity to do creative work, we are violating 
a great universal law.^ 

In the appendix is a list of cities where in one or more factories 
these classes for the non-English-speaking and illiterate are held. 
This educational experiment is not confined to one locality but is 
being tried throughout the country. Lists of firms in different 
cities are given in the appendix. The opinions of employers and 
organizations of the value of this work also are interesting and 
instructive. These are also found in the appendix. 

Organization of Factory Classes 

Education of adults as of children is rightly the responsibility 
of the community. In the organization of factory classes, public 



^ Bulletin of the Taylor Society, March 1917. 



14 

school officials and teachers in cooperation with plant officials 
should plan and direct the work. Other civic and educational 
associations well may be asked to cooperate. Three things are 
necessary to the success of this undertaking: (i) sympathy and 
active help of employers; (2) skilled teachers especially qualified 
for a task requiring energy, resourcefulness, tact and efficiency; 
(3) interest and determined effort of the men and women who 
need the instruction. To gain the confidence of the workers and 
knowledge of their needs, leaders of different national groups ought 
to be asked to serve on committees. 

Census of the Plant 

A director of educational work should be appointed. Foremen 
then are called together by the manager and plans carefully 
explained by the director. In some places, mass meetings of the 
employees are addressed, through interpreters, by manager and 
foremen; in others, smaller groups are reached more effectively. 
A simple explanation of proposed classes is made carefully and 
emphasis laid on the point that English is necessary for the workers' 
protection and advancement. Their own countries, languages and 
cultural contributions ought to be given generous recognition and 
no suggestion made of a compulsory substitution of English for 
their native tongue. The advantages of proficiency in two languages 
might well be stressed. 

After preliminary explanations, each employee or some one acting 
for him ought to fill out cards supplied by the State Department 
of Education giving (i) name, address, age, country of birth; (2) 
length of time in this country; (3) citizen or alien; (4) first papers, 
time since taking them; (5) amount of schooling in native country 
and in America; (6) ability to speak, read and write English; (7) 
married or single; (8) members of immediate family; (9) school 
attended by children; (10) length of time in the employ of firm; 
(11) job; (12) check number; (13) foreman; (14) hours of 
work; (15) desire to attend night school; (16) desire to attend 
factory classes. 

According to information obtained in the registration, classes 
of different grades may be formed. 

Composition of Classes 

Whether employees in classes shall be separated according to 
nationality, age, sex, literacy, knowledge of English, etc., are matters 
to be decided from varying conditions in different factories. 



15 

Generally speaking, in beginners' classes the best work is obtained 
from careful grading, based on age, nationality, literacy and under- 
standing of English. Simple tests for grading may be obtained by 
sending to the State Department of Immigrant Education. 

Teachers 

Teachers for this work oug'ht to be the best of the community 
and sufficient salaries paid to induce trained men and women to 
take up this highly skilled teaching. Only in exceptional instances 
is it advisable to have foremen or other plant employees give 
instruction, and then they should have an intensive course in 
methods. A man may be a good mechanic, a competent foreman, 
employment manager, or welfare worker, and still be unfitted for 
teaching. Public school teachers should have intensive training 
from some shop executive in shop vocabulary, safety directions, and 
history of the industry. It is easier for persons trained in pedagogy 
to acquire in a short time this knowledge than for shop employees 
to master the technic of teaching. 

Financial Support of Classes 

Money for factory classes should be included in the public 
school budget. An educational campaign may be necessary to 
impress upon the citizens their responsibility to illiterates and non- 
English-speaking adults. Experience has proved that night schools 
have not adequately met the emergency. 

The State Federation of Labor, through its committee on educa- 
tion, has taken a strong stand on education and through local 
unions has pledged to demand public support for these continuation 
classes. Section 23 of its report of 1918 reads : " Acquisition of a 
fair knowledge of the American language by continuous shop and 
school instruction, supervised by state educational authorities, to be 
required of all employed foreign-language aliens as a condition of 
continued employment." 

Time for Classes 

Some employers, realizing that additional efficiency gained by 
the workers from class instruction is an asset in their business,, 
gladly give the time for factory classes. Others give half, and the 
employees, half. In other plants, particularly, where there is an 
eight hour day, the time is entirely outside working hours. The 
period, forty-five minutes or thereabouts, is sometimes at the end 



16 

of the day or shift, sometimes in the early forenoon, or afternoon. 
The number of meetings a week varies in different places. Excel- 
lent results have been obtained from three a week. 

Place of Meeting 

Rest rooms, restaurants, recreation halls, and similar rooms are 
used as classrooms. If preferred, schoolhouses or libraries in the 
vicinity may be used. Chairs, tables, blackboards and good lighting 
are necessary equipment. Notebooks, pencils and textbooks entail 
little expense and may be provided by employees or by the public 
schools. 

Subjects of Instruction 

In the foregoing pages, the teaching of English has been stressed 
and it is necessarily the chief subject of instruction. That, how- 
ever, is the medium of teaching other things, after once a funda- 
mental vocabulary has been gained, as safety in shop and street, 
hygiene in home and factory, history of industry, citizenship etc. 

Needs of individual factories must be studied and instruction 
adapted to each industry and body of workers. Closest cooperation 
with the safety engineer of the plant is necessary, or in a small 
factory with foremen who train the workers. As it is admitted 
that ignorance of English is certainly a factor in accidents, result- 
ing in loss of life or disability, our first duty is to instruct efficiently 
in safety directions. Later, general information of the industry 
can be given. Whatever, in short, is of immediate use to the 
groups of workers in each factory should guide in choice of 
subjects. 

Above all, it is desired that the work done in these classes — 
necessarily elementary and meager — will develop a " quickening of 
mental life " and that this instruction will be but the introduction 
to further study. No opportunity on the part of the teacher should 
be lost in using the groups to promote social life in plant and in com- 
munity. A connection with the home can be formed and participa- 
tion of the family in outside activities stimulated. 

Regular class work may be varied by stereopticans, victrolas, 
pictures, dramatization, simple talks from people representing 
different interests of the pupils. 

Certificate of Attendance 

In some cities, certificates issued by the State are given to 
graduates of each grade of factory classes. Some such tangible 



17 

evidence of instruction is to be commended. This teaching of 
adults must be made dignified and matter of fact. The idea that 
training is only for children is a hindrance to progress. These 
men and women should be made to feel that school attendance 
is natural and every means possible ought to be taken in the 
factory and the community to give dignity and approbation to the 
work. 

Cooperation 

Through the war, we have learned that herculean tasks can be 
done if there is whole-hearted cooperation. In this great work set 
before us of making life fuller and better for our adult population 
whose childhood, often, through no fault of their own, lacked 
opportunities for any formal mental training, cooperation is an 
essential. 

We must be free from suspicion of trying to force instruction 
on unwilling men and women. To this end, plans should be 
patiently explained through leaders of different groups. It is- 
advisable to work with educational committees of labor unions, 
wherever they exist. Always there must be flexibility to adapt this 
work to the wishes and needs of each community and each group. 
A recognition of the value of old-world contributions is absolutely 
necessary to the full success of the undertaking. 

APPENDIX 

Composition of the Population of the United States in 1910 

The figures in the 1910 census are now old but they give proportions which 
doubtless, in general, hold true. 

Total population 91 922 266 

Total foreign-born 13 515 886 

Total foreign-bom and mixed parentage 32 480 839 

Of these foreign-born, almost three millions, or one in every 
four, could not speak English 

Illiterates in population of United States, ten years of age and more, 
according to the census of 1910: 

Number Per cent 

5 516 163 7.7 

Statistics for New York State — 1910 Census 

Total population of New York State 9 113 614 

More than 2,700,000 persons, or nearly 30 per cent of this number, were 
foreign-bom whites. More than 3,000,000 persons, about 33 per cent, were 
of mixed parentage. 



18 



Illiterates in New York State 

Total number of illiterates lo years of age and over: 



All classes 406 020. 

Native white of native parentage 21 292. 

Native white of foreign or mixed parentage 15 026. 

Foreign-born white 362 025 . 

Negro 5768. 



Percentage 

5-5 
0.8 
0.7 

13-7 
S.o 



Illiterates of New York State in Age Groups 



10 to 14 years 15 to 24 years 25 to 34 years 

No. Per cent No. Per cent No. Per cent 

2 619 .03 78 84s 4.4 109 836 6.7 

45 to 54 years 
No. Per cent 
60 305 6.5 



35 to 44 years 
No. Per cent 
85 578 6.4 



Cities in Which 

New York, N. Y. 
Cleveland, Ohio 
Chicago, 111. 
Philadelphia, Pa. 
Boston, Mass. 
Albany, N. Y. 
Rochester, N. Y, 
Buffalo, N. Y. 
Middletown, Ohio 
Cincinnati, Ohio 
Lynn, Mass. 
St Louis, Mo. 
St Paul, Minn. 



Factory Classes are 

Milwaukee, Wis. 
Detroit, Mich. 
Massena, N. Y. 
Deferiet, N. Y. 
New Brunswick, N. J. 
Akron, Ohio 
Niagara Falls, N, Y, 
Waterbury, Conn. 
Youngstown, Ohio 
Bridgeport, Conn. 
Bayonne, N. J. 
Lowell, Mass. 
Pittsburgh, Pa. 



Already Organized 

■ Seymour, Conn. 
Chester, Pa. 
Elmira, N. Y. 
Los Angeles, Cal. 
New Britain, Conn. 
Southbridge, Mass. 
Kalamazoo, Mich. 
Worcester, Mass. 
New Bedford, Mass. 
Cambridge, Mass.- 
Terre Haute, Ind. 
West Orange, N. J. 



Franklin Simon Co. 
General Cigar Co. 
American Tobacco Co. 
A. Goodman & Sons 
National Biscuit Co. 
Frank Spica Co. 
L. P. Hollander 
Henri Bendel, Inc. 
Hickson, Inc. 



Firms Having Factory Classes in 1919 

New York City 

Sweets Co. of America 
American Can Co. 
Atlantic Comb Works 
Kaufman & Bonday 
Cohen, Goldman & Co. 
L. Greenfield's Sons 
Winter & Co. 
Altro Mfg. Co. 
Wm. DeMuth & Co. 



Carborundum Co. 
Acheson Graphite Co. 
Union Carbide Co. 



Niagara Falls, N. Y. 

National Carbon Co. 
Niagara Electric Chemical Co. 
U. S. Light & Heat Co. 



19 

Buffalo, N. Y. 

Contact Process Co. Aluminum Castings Co. 

Dold Packing Co. Lumen Bearings Co. 

General Chemical Co. 

Rochester, N. Y. 

Bausch & Lomb Co. Wollensak Optical Co. 

Michael Stern & Co. 

Syracuse, N. Y. 

S. Shapiro Co. Solvay-Process Co. 

A. E. Nettleton Co. Church & Dwight Co. 

Crouse-Hinds Pierce, Butler & Pierce 

Warner Macaroni Co. Brown-Lipe-Chapin 

Steams Factories Onondaga Pottery Co'. 
Smith-Premier Typewriter Co. 

Opinions of Employers and Organizations on the Value of 

Factory Classes 

In a letter to the National Americanization Committee, Charles 
M. Schwab said: 

It has been found repeatedly that Americanization of workers has a 
stabilizing effect. It shows quick results in the reduction of labor turnover 
and tends to create a spirit of cooperation among the workmen which is 
impossible when they do not speak the same language. 

The board of directors of the Merchants' Association of New 
York City, said in a recent report : 

We recommend strongly the institution of classes for manual workers 
and especially for illiterates, in places of employment during daylight hours, 
preferably with the cooperation of the public school authorities, and with- 
out loss of pay during the brief daily periods of instruction. 

Mark A. Daly, general secretary of the Associated Manufac- 
turers and Merchants of New York State, wrote to the State 
Department of Education, in November 1917: 

The efficiency and safety of foreigners who do not speak English and 
who are employed in American industry has been seriously jeopardized by 
the fact that they have not a sufficient knowledge of the English language 
to comprehend ordinary " shop English." 

Miss Sarah Elkus, in charge of factory classes in New York 
City, says : 

As the classes progress, many employers are most enthusiastic in their 
approval of this innovation in factory life. They find the men become 
much more loyal to their country and to the company, and more efficient 



21) 

in their work when they have learned to read such signs as " Open at this 
end," "Do not tear," "Be careful to cut with scissors." A large amount of 
money is saved in this way, and increased pay and promotion have been 
given to those who learned the language. 

The D. E. Sicher Company of New York City, manufacturers of 
women's underwear, says: 

It is worth while and most emphatically so [to have factory classes for 
foreign born]. Putting it on basis of expense, I could prove to you that 
it is worth while. They give back in efficient labor all that it costs to- 
instruct them, part of each working day. We do not want cheap, illiterate,, 
irresponsible, unambitious labor, and all progressive manufacturers are com- 
ing to see that such labor does not pay. 

The General Chemical Company of Bayonne, N. J., has said : 

The results have been excellent and have made it possible to promote 
many of the foreign-speaking employees to more important and better paying^: 
positions. 

Michael Stern and Company of Rochester, wrote in July 1919: 

There has unquestionably been an increase in efficiency among those who- 
have taken advantage of the opportunity offered. The institution [factory 
classes] is one in which we are very much interested and which has our 
entire approval. We hope to resume classes next season and to interest evea 
larger number of employees if there is a possibility of so doing. 

The Bausch and Lomb Optical Company of Rochester, wrote 
in August 1919: 

Our factory classes were established primarily to make it possible for 
those illiterate minors who live some distance from our factory and from 
an evening school to attend school, and therefore to comply with the law.. 
We estimated that we might have 20 or 2S in the class; however, a careful 
investigation disclosed that we have but 14 illiterate minors who found it 
impossible to attend one of the 'evening schools. Nevertheless, on January 
27th, we started our first factory class with 14 illiterate minors and two- 
other alien adults who wanted to become Americans. 

Shortly after the classes opened for minors, we found a strong demand for 
classes in English on the part of adult males who had not been attending 
evening school because it was too much of a hardship for them to get out in^ 
the evening and because of their reticence in attending regular school classes. 
It was therefore decided to open our factory classes to alien adults in the 
factory. We had as a result over 100 applications of men who desired to 
take up the work. 

The school had six classes, five of the lower grade and one of the more 
advanced grade. These six classes were taught by four teachers furnished 
by the board of education. The school was in session from 5.15 to 7 oclock, 
Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays of each week. Each class was. 



i21 

in session for one hour. The subject matter taught was the same as in the 

evening schools of the city, except the advanced class was prepared for 
citizenship. 

The company cooperated in every respect to make these classes attractive 
and successful. It was at the suggestion of one of the members of the firm 
that light refreshment was served to each student after work before he 
started his class work. 

Only one pupil of the enrolment left the company's employ during the 
school period, and as she returned a few weeks after leaving, the classes 
maintained an average of 99.5 per cent of attendance in their departments, 
which showed an increase of 33 per cent over an equal number who did not 
attend the classes. Two men and three girls were singled out and without 
their knowing it, the foremen's report showed that their efficiency was 
increased from 25 per cent to 31 per cent as compared with their work prior 
to attending evening classes. 

It is of no little satisfaction that we can make this statement that only two 
of the original pupils have left the company's employ since the classes were 
started and that those who have attended classes, have become the most loyal 
members of the working force in their respective departments. 

The Shapiro Factory, Syracuse (employing mostly women) : 

We value our factory class last year very beneficial to both the factory 
and the employees. It raised the general intelligence of all the group, and 
was a socializing influence for good. 

Crouse-Hinds, Syracuse : 

The factory class is a great thing. The men are anxious to learn and are 
already asking when the school will open. Many studied from their children's 
books during the summer. Most of the men who could not write their names 
last year are now able to check up their own time. Plainly noticeable that 
the men respond to orders more quickly because they understand better. 

Note: This factory was so well pleased with the results of the factory 
classes that they presented each teacher a check for $25 at the close of the 
term. 

Smith-Premier Typewriter Co., Syracuse: 

The value of the factory class to the factory is that it saves time by making 
it easier to give orders. 

Church and Dwight, Syracuse: 

The factory class experiment is still too new to draw any definite con- 
clusions. Would not say the factory class was any marked advantage to the 
factory, but there is no question that it was a decided help to the employees, 
and any movement that benefits the people in a community has a good effect 
on the industry of that community. We want our factory classes again this 
winter, because we believe that ultimately it will prove a good investment for 
the factory. 



Onondaga Pottery Company, Syracuse: 

We are thoroughly satisfied with the school and in a reasonable length of 
time it will do good. This company believes sufficiently in the value of the 
factory schools to be willing to give up space, light and heat and any other 
necessities for the class, also our time. It is the only way of teaching men. 

On June 20, 1918, Seidenberg and Company, sent the following: 

We write to thank you for the keen interest you have taken in people of 
foreign birth, who are in the employ of our firm, and your patriotic endeavor 
to have them taught to read and write English. The class has made splendid 
progress. All are anxious to learn, are fond of their teacher, Miss Appelt, 
and we consider ourselves well rewarded for the time and space we have 
given to the class. 

United States Rubber Co., New Haven, Conn. : 

Our classes aie held in the various factories during working hours. The 
classes meet twice a week in the majority of cases, although in others they 
meet from three to five times each week. A day worker's time goes on in the 
factory, an hour's work in the Americanization school being ■equivalent to an 
hour's work in the shop. The piece workers are paid a minimum of 15 cents 
an hour. It is conceded by foremen generally, that the shop spirit is better, 
and that the number of errors in various departments, due to the lack of 
knowledge of English, has been reduced to a great extent by the direct 
method of handling these problems in classes. 

The teachers are obtained in almost every case from the local board of 
education, and paid by them. Cooperation with and supervision by the 
public school authorities is strongly urged. We feel that the best results are 
obtained only when the public character of the education is encouraged. 

The Pfister and Vogel Leather Company of Milwaukee, reported, 
August I, 1919: 

We gave six hundred of our employees a ten weeks' course in speaking, 
reading, writing and arithmetic in the Engish language, and kept away from 
the word "Americanization and Citizenship." We gave them full time dur- 
ing school hours, which was from 8 o'clock till 12 o'clock five days a \veek. 
Classes were of one hour duration. A separate check was given the man 
for time put in this school, from their regular check, so that there would 
be no confusion. 

The A. B. Kirschbaum Company of Philadelphia: 

Our piece workers are allowed fifty cents per hour while in attendance and 
our week workers' time is not deducted while they are in attendance. 

The Wisconsin Bridge and Iron Company, of Milwaukee: 

Some of the manufacturers are paying the men in their employ who need 
instruction in English for attending these classes. The basis of payment 
being one hour's pay at employees regular shop rate for every two hours 
spent in the class. 



The Joseph & Feiss Co. of Cleveland, wrote on August i, 1919: 

It is now some years since we established classes for the teaching of 
English and citizenship. We have made the learning of English and attend- 
ance at classes compulsory, announcing that advancements took directly into 
consideration the speaking of English. At the same time, we started and 
have since continued a citizenship campaign. We have for the same length 
of time given pieference in employment to those who speak English, employ- 
ing no one who did not speak English well enough to pass certain tests, 
without a distinct understanding that his employment was conditional upon 
attendance at classes. 

In Chicago, where there are 150 factory classes a week and a 
waiting list of 155 industries ready to start ^ there is enthusiastic 
approval of them. The superintendent of one of the International 
Harvester plants said: 

Some of our people (in factory classes) are doubling their output. 

Another Chicago manager said: 

Our dream is that Americanization will banish foreign language foremen 
and interpreter in our employment office, two great barriers between us 
and our men. Only think what it means when I can make an announcement 
to them myself. 

Another said : 

It means a closer relation all along the line. Closer relation in our factory 
will result in better feelings, just as closer relations in our community life 
will result in better citizenship. 

In Detroit, Mr Ford's plant has been having successful classes 
for some time. They report from there : 

Accidents in this plant have decreased 54 per cent since employees have 
been able to read factory notices and instructions. 



^ See Everybodys, July 1919. An article by Grace Humphrey. 



55 



What should be said of a world-leading democracy wherein lo per cent of 
the adult population can not read the laws which they are presumed to know? 

What should be said of a democracy which sends an army to preach democ- 
racy wherein there was drafted out of the first 2,000,000 men a total of 200,000 
men who could not read their orders or imderstand them when delivered, or 
read the letters sent them from home? 

What should be said of a democracy which calls upon its citizens to consider 
the wisdom of forming a league of nations, of passing judgment upon a code 
which will insure the freedom of the seas, or of sacrificing the daily stint of 
wheat and meat for the benefit of the Rumanians or the Jugo-Slavs, when 18 
per cent of the coming citizens of that democracy do not go to school? 

What should be said of a democracy in which one of its sovereign states 
expends a grand total of $6 per year per child for sustaining its public-school 
system? 

What should be said of a democracy which is challenged by the world to prove 
the superiority of its system of government over those discarded, and yet is 
compelled to reach many millions of its people through papers printed in some 
foreign language? 

What should be said of a democracy which expends in a year twice as much 
for chewing gum as for schoolbooks, more for automobiles than for all primary 
and secondary education, and in which the average teacher's salary is less than 
that of the average day laborer? 

What should be said of a democracy which permits tens of thousands of its 
native-bom children to be taught American history in a foreign language — • 
the Declaration of Independence and Lincoln's Gettysburg speech in German 
and other tongues? 

What should be said of a democracy which permits men and women to work 
in masses where they seldom or never hear a word of English spoken? 

Yet, this is all true of the United States of America. 

— ■Franklin K. Lane, Secretary of the Interior 
A nnual Report, 1918 



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